Graphic design history from the Czech Republic, documented through artefacts, articles and designers’ profiles, exploring visual culture, typography, and communication design.
Czech graphic design has a rich history. Prague in the 1920s and 30s was a major European design centre, engaging deeply with Constructivism and the New Typography. The archive holds issues of the Czech magazine Typografia documenting typographic thinking from the Art Nouveau period through early modernism and one of the most important primary sources for Central European design history.
Membership from £2.49/month unlocks articles researched and inspired by the artefacts in the collection.
Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories, Typography & Type Design
60 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. 21 (1910). Czech commercial printing and book design as Secession ornament progressed to early modernist typography, with work by Alois Rieger, Methoděj Kaláb, Alois Chvála and many more.
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Typography & Type Design, Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
60 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. 23 (1912). Czech commercial printing and book design as Secession ornament progressed to early modernist typography, with work by Jindra Dvořáček, Methoděj Kaláb, Alois Chvála and many more.
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Design Archive Feature, Design Education, Magazines & Publishing, Members Only Content
Across Europe, industry unions and trade journals shaped the professionalisation of graphic design between 1890 and 1930. Journals such as Typografia, Das Plakat, The Penrose Annual and Typographische Jahrbucher.
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Movements, Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content
Art Nouveau spread through magazine covers across Europe, from the German Jugend to the Czech Typografia, and regional variations shaped the movement's visual style in print.
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Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories, Typography & Type Design
60 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. 22 (1911). Czech commercial printing at the crossroads of Art Nouveau and early modernism, with work by Methoděj Kaláb, Alois Chvála, V. H. Brunner and many more.
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Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories, Typography & Type Design
60 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. 20 (1909). Czech commercial printing at the crossroads of Art Nouveau and early modernism, with work by Methoděj Kaláb, Otokar Císař, Karel Dyrink and many more.
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Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories, Typography & Type Design
40 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. 18 (1907). Czech commercial printing at the crossroads of Art Nouveau and early modernism, with work by Otokar Císař, Method Kaláb, and Mořic Novotný.
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Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories, Typography & Type Design
50 examples of Czech typography from Typografia Vol. XIX (1908). Czech commercial printing at the crossroads of Art Nouveau and early modernism, with work by Otokar Císař, Method Kaláb, and Mořic Novotný.
Read ArticleExplore designers central to Czech graphic design including Jiří Rathouský, Karel Teige, and Ladislav Sutnar. See also Constructivism and 1920s graphic design history.
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